the devil may cry
by doodlechick12
Summary: Post "timshel," New Orleans is brimming with trouble - supernatural and otherwise - and Stephanie has found herself in the middle of it all. Elena must regain control of her bloodlust and her humanity in time to uncover a worrying mystery at Whitmore College, and Damon is becoming increasingly suspicious of his sister's extended absence. Genderbent AU
1. everybody wants to rule the world

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries/The Originals or any quotes used/borrowed.

Notes: If you're still reading, I think that's awesome! And thanks! I appreciate it and I hope you continue to enjoy and leave positive feedback.

* * *

**everybody wants to rule the world**

"_Lately I been, I been losing sleep  
Dreaming about the things that we could be  
But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard  
Said no more counting dollars  
We'll be counting stars  
Yeah, we'll be counting stars."_

_._

_._

_._

_AUGUST – 2 MONTHS LATER _

She stood in front of a body length mirror in her underthings, her long dark hair tickling her otherwise bare back. Her toes curled in the soft carpet of her bedroom and the humid New Orleans breeze made her closed curtains flutter from her open window. Stephanie twisted her body to the side and narrowed her eyes. She sucked in her stomach, and then pushed out; twisted to look at the other side more critically.

She tentatively put a hand to her naked, still flat midsection. There was no noticeable change there and she couldn't feel anything, but her bra was beginning to become tighter and slightly uncomfortable. Stephanie hadn't known much about pregnancy besides the basics when she had studied medicine in college – there had been no need and little interest. Now, she had the knowledge of several books, many internet websites, and a few doctoral opinions behind her. Still, no one could blame her for the confused and complex feelings she was having. She was pregnant.

Stephanie was _pregnant. _The circumstances were beyond strange and the timing was terrible, but she was going to be responsible for a life that wasn't a friend's or Damon's; it was going to be her child's.

A thought niggled at the back of her head, in the part of her heart that grieved. Jeremy Gilbert, her first love in such a long time was dead and not coming back, but still, her thoughts lingered . . . if they'd settled their differences and put aside their fears and concerns and the past and the witches had still performed the spell . . . could the baby insider of her have been _his_? There was still a small part of her that was in love with that sweet, sweet boy who loved to draw with charcoal and had made her laugh and cared about saving innocents as much as she did. The boy who stuck by her for so long until he just couldn't handle it any longer . . . was now dead. Killed by Silas, who had suspiciously looked just like Damon.

Stephanie's phone buzzed. She let it go to voicemail and then listened to the message left there.

"_Hey Stephanie, it's Caroline . . . again. We all went on a short road trip, you know, getting it down before school in a few days. But we all missed you and Elena. Bonnie was weird, you know because of the Expression stuff. She acted like she was going through withdrawal the entire summer vacation. If Kol ever comes back to town, I think she'll try to blow him up, with or without powers. I'm sure Elena will be sad that she missed Graduation and everything when she returns to normal . . ._ There was an awkward cough. Then Caroline barreled on. _Really, Steph, I don't understand why you didn't stay. We could have used your support during the whole thing with Bonnie and during the ceremony in May. If you would just pick up the phone a little more often and explain in a little detail . . ._

A sigh. _Are you going to come to Whitmore? I know you didn't apply but I'm sure you could compel some administrators or something. I hope you'll call me back – and sooner than last time btw. Bye, Steph._

Stephanie tossed her phone onto her bed and turned to ruffle through her things to look for something to wear. Caroline had left almost regular messages over the summer, starting the day of Graduation, explaining their "Bonnie situation" and how Kol had disappeared off the face of the earth, after. She felt guilty for not returning all – many – of Caroline's calls, but she had no idea how to explain the situation she'd found herself in without Caroline flying out to New Orleans. And New Orleans was _not_ a safe place for any of Steph's friends to be. She refused to let them get in the middle of the mess brewing in the French Quarter; it was best of they went on to college like they planned, and for Damon to focus on getting Elena to turn her emotions back on.

If she could just keep them away, they'd be safe.

Stephanie pulled on a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt, with her favorite green sweatshirt and boots. Then she left the confines of her bedroom. In the two months she'd spent in NOLA, it had been filled with the monotony of unpacking her clothes and personal items and helping fix the large mansion so that it was suitable for living. She'd done a lot of wandering, familiarizing herself with the French Quarter, and spending a bit of time watching Marcel and his men. Elijah and Klaus bickered twenty three hours of the day about New Orleans, the witches, whether or not to release Rebekah from her dagger, and more recently, about the baby and Stephanie's safety.

Steph was content to let them argue because it didn't matter to her what they decided; she was not going to be controlled and locked up for nine months. They just didn't realize that yet.

She jogged down the elaborate staircase that led from the second story to the parlor, but stopped dead – no pun intended – at the sight in front of her. "Kl_au_s," Stephanie said slowly, "tell me this isn't what it looks like. Please."

"I would, but that would be lying and I don't really want to lie to you, love." Klaus shut the coffin's top and rolled the large mahogany resting box into the foyer. "All the best relationship counselors say that honesty is key you know."

"Did they say that_ before_ or _after_ you ate them?" Stephanie asked. She flashed down to the base of the stairs and then stalked after Klaus as he flung open the front door to greet two very familiar vampires.

"Semantics," Klaus dismissed airily. He grinned at the men waiting for him. "Hello, boys, where's Marcel?"

Stephanie recognized one of them as Thierry and the other as Diego; both of them Marcel's close and trusted henchmen. "Klaus?" Her voice was tight with frustration. What the hell was going on?

"He's coming," Thierry said. His eyes lit up when they caught sight of the coffin and his fingers curled slightly in anticipation. "So Elijah's in here? You wouldn't mind if we . . . checked, right?"

"Unfortunately, I do have to agree with my boy here," Marcel's voice drawled as he strolled up to the house. A hearse was parked in the driveway, and Stephanie supposed there was some irony in a vampire driving a one. "I've just got to make sure you're being straight with me, man."

"Of course." Klaus nodded and waved his hands at Elijah's coffin.

"Would someone tell me what's going on here?" Stephanie asked stiffly. She put her hands onto her hips. "_Now_, preferably."

"I'm giving Elijah over to Marcel as a gesture of good faith," Klaus said simply, "so that he knows that we're _partners_." His blue eyes were sharp and intense as they stared into Stephanie's. "Don't worry, love. It'll all be worked out soon."

"You're crazy," Stephanie said flatly. "After everything Elijah has done for you?" Despite the fact that this was clearly just a technique to help get into Marcel's good graces quickly and painlessly, Steph was not a fan of this plan. Klaus gave her significant look. She glared. "Why now? We've been here for weeks."

"Well, I just want to make sure we're all on the straight and narrow here," Marcel's booming voice echoed as he stepped into view. He lifted open the lid of the coffin and whistled. "Grey is not your brother's color." Stephanie snuck a peak and had to agree; Elijah looked horrific and she winced in sympathy.

Klaus turned back to his friend and shrugged. "Can't say I've met a vampire that does, mate." Marcel chuckled and shut the lid firmly and with a sharp click. He twirled his fingers and immediately Thierry and Diego hefted Elijah up into their arms and carried him over to the hearse, where they stored his coffin in the back.

"Nice doing business with you, man!" Marcel crowed. "You want to go out? I've wanted to show you something."

"Sure. Stay in the house, love," Klaus said casually and he strolled off with Marcel. They hopped into the hearse and the car rumbled to life before taking off down the dusty driveway, sending gravel and dirt into the air.

"Like hell I will," Stephanie growled and stepped out of the house, slamming the door behind her. She stalked down the driveway angrily. Klaus was playing a game to keep up a façade for Marcel, but Stephanie wasn't feeling particularly cooperative that day. If Klaus thought that he could keep her there like a fifties housewife, he had another thing coming.

"Someone's a little testy," A familiar voice drawled behind her. "Apparently the honeymoon phase is over. Can't really blame you for being pissy with Klaus; he can get a little overprotective and domineering of the ones he wants to keep to himself. Trust me."

Stephanie sighed, but kept walking. "Kol."

The Original strolled over to her side and maintained pace with her as they walked with regular human speed out of the drive and toward town. "Stephanie."

"You do realize that your brother just shoved both Rebekah and Elijah into coffins within months of each other, right? If I were you, I might have second thoughts about coming to meet him," Stephanie said critically. She side eyed him. "On second thought . . ." Kol was a pain in the ass ninety percent of the time, meaning it wouldn't_ too_ much of a loss if he was daggered and out of everyone's hair.

He smirked. "Eh," Kol grunted. "He daggered Rebekah so she couldn't cause any trouble and to keep her from feeling the pain of losing someone, and he daggered Elijah so that Marcel couldn't manipulate Klaus through him. Me? Klaus won't waste the energy unless I start to bug the bloke too much." He winked. "Besides, I have a couple of new tricks now anyway." Kol wiggled his fingers and lightning bolts buzzed between them.

"Point," Stephanie admitted. She pressed her lips together and debated on whether or not to ask Kol the burning question that had plagued her for the week. "What's Marcel and Klaus' relationship?" She finally asked. "I know Klaus turned him, but there's something more to it than that. Anyone can see it."

Kol laughed. "Blood hell, I forgot there were people who don't know about their history." At Steph's impatient look, he continued. "Marcel's like a son to my brother, believe it or not." Stephanie searched his face; Kol seemed entirely truthful, so she nodded. "I wasn't there initially, but I've heard the story. They were burying one of the mayor's sons – he was Rebekah's lover, of course – and they saw the mayor's other kid whipping this wee little mite, Marcellus. He must have been twelve or thirteen. Klaus made mayor's kid stop when Marcel showed some backbone and then rescued the kid. He even named him, too, come to think of it. He took Marcel in and raised him like he was his son because I guess he saw himself in him." Kol rolled his eyes.

"Because of Mikael's abuse," Stephanie supplied slowly.

Kol looked surprised but then shook his head. "Of course he told you. But yes, essentially."

"Then the witches' plan isn't going to work," Stephanie said almost to herself. Her hand hovered over her lower abdomen. The baby. Would they terminate the baby when they learned of Marcel and Klaus' relationship? Kol caught the motion and the soft spoken words.

But he was mainly focused the on the witches part and he perked up. "What witches?"

"The witches of the French Quarter are looking to overthrow Marcel," Stephanie explained. "They went to a lot of trouble to get us here so that Klaus would do it for them. Although, apparently it was for nothing. But why would Klaus give him Elijah then?"

Kol hummed in thought. "Marcel never was a big fan of Elijah's, or so Rebekah told me. But I think it's more likely my brother has something up his sleeve that he's keeping to himself. Do you happen to know where Rebekah's body is?"

"I have no idea," Stephanie said honestly and narrowed her eyes in thought.

Kol only hummed again. "I'll see you later, Miss Stephanie. I have havoc to wreak." He disappeared as they reached the French Quarter, as if he'd never been there to begin with. Stephanie sighed.

Then her phone rang again – Damon, this time. "Hello?"

"How's New Orleans?" He drawled.

"Same as it always is," Stephanie said as she began walking again. "Busy and full of conniving people."

"Of course it is." He sounded distracted.

"How's Elena doing?" Stephanie lowered her voice. "Has she turned it back on yet?"

"Nope," Damon said grimly. "But I have a few more ideas that I'll try."

"It's been a long summer," Stephanie said quietly. "Do you think she'll be able to go to Whitmore when it starts? Caroline asked." She was in the Quarter now, in the thick of the hustle and bustle, making it a little more difficult to talk and listen. She put a finger to her left ear to block out the excess noise.

"She wants to," Damon said, surprising Steph. "Even if it's only to sample some of the people there in the process, it's something. I'm thinking that after New York, it'll be a good idea to bring her home so she can see some familiar faces. Maybe being in the area will help her want to remember."

"Or maybe it'll remind her of Jeremy and make to draw back even further," Stephanie pointed out.

"Sh, you're harshing my juju," Damon admonished. "Besides, she'd be at Whitmore with Blondie and Judgy; no Jeremy related things there to freak her out. Plus, you have to come back eventually, right? So she'll have that whole network of support thing you talk about."

Stephanie quieted at the mention of returning to Virginia. She didn't know how she was supposed to go back, let alone even explain her situation. She wasn't even able to physically leave New Orleans because of damn Sophie Devereux.

When she didn't reply, Damon asked, "Stephanie . . . what's going on that you're not telling me about?"

"Nothing," Stephanie said unconvincingly. "Really."

"Stephanie. You've been gone as long as Elena and I have."

"Nothing for you to worry about," Steph pushed. "You need to focus on_ Elena_. I can handle things here."

"That doesn't sound good, Steph." His voice suddenly took on a teasing tone, "Tell me what trouble you've gotten into now and I won't be mad later."

She decided to tell him part of the truth. "The reason I'm in New Orleans is that I'm here to help Klaus with something. It's not a big deal, so don't worry."

"Steph-"

"Oh, would you look at the time? Bye, Damon." Stephanie hung up and turned her phone off before slipping it back into her purse. She looked up and found herself at the restaurant – bar that Sophie worked at. She slipped inside and sat on a barstool, waiting patiently for the bartender to notice her.

"Hi," The woman greeted her moments later. She was blonde and personable, with an easy smile and knowledgeable eyes. "What can I get you?"

"Coke," Stephanie said forlornly, already missing the taste of alcohol. The woman, whose nametag read Camille, gave her a smile and disappeared behind the soda fountain machine. Stephanie tapped her fingers on the bar and turned to look at its other patrons. It was just her luck that that was the bar that Marcel had taken Klaus; they were seated at a small table by the window overlooking the sidewalk. Steph rolled her and turned back around in time for Camille to return with her drink. "Thanks." She gave bartender the required payment and began to sip her coke.

"Something the matter?" Camille asked. Her large eyes looked down at the vampire, concerned. Stephanie shrugged. Camille leaned forward almost conspiratorially. "I'm a psychologist too, if it helps; or studying to be one, anyway." Steph gave her a wry glance, to which the other women just shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah, I know; a bartender who's a therapist. It's probably one of the worst clichés."

Stephanie smiled. "Well, I have this sort-of boyfriend who I've known for a long time and we recently kind of got back together. Only now he's in some trouble and I've got to help him out, but things just got really complicated . . ."

"Mommy issues?" Camille suggested.

"Daddy issues," Steph corrected and waved a hand, "but that's not the problem here. More like there are people conspiring against him?" She pursed her lips.

Camille furrowed her brows. "You know, a man came in here a while ago and said that his brother thought people were conspiring against _him_ . . ."

"Tall, dark and wearing a suit?" Steph tilted her head.

"How'd you know?" But Camille's face said everything.

"He's my kind-of boyfriend's older brother," Stephanie sighed and drank some more soda. "He . . . left for a while."

"Hm. Didn't seem the type to run," Camille mused and Stephanie grimaced.

"It wasn't voluntary," Stephanie said darkly and stirred the ice in her coke with her straw. "And his other brother just came into town too. Younger, this time."

"Does he also have a hero complex too?"

Stephanie made an unimpressed face and shook her head. "He's a dick."

Camille laughed before looking at the clock. "Well, I'm clocking out. It was nice meeting you . . ."

"Stephanie."

"Stephanie." Camille smiled and untied her apron. "I'm Cami." She stooped down and grabbed a bag and a handful of books. Across the room, Marcel and Klaus rose as one, making Steph still in her barstool. As Cami prepared to leave, Marcel and Klaus intercepted her. Stephanie moved to the human's side to provide a little protection.

"Hello, love," Klaus said and smiled at Camille. The bartender tilted her head. "What's that you're studying?" He pointed at the books she was holding.

"Klaus . . ." Stephanie warned. Her fingers twitched.

"Abnormal psychology," Camille answered warily.

"Well, why don't you diagnose my friend over here . . . he's been kind of depressed, see." Klaus tugged Camille over to Marcel, where the other vampire stood at the bar. "He's been thinking a lot about this girl. He tells me she's a queen, fit for a king. I think he should cut his losses and move on. What's your _professional_ opinion?"

Camille gave them both unimpressed looks, but Stephanie saw the moment when she decided to humor them. "I think he should try to be nice. And polite. And maybe the opportunity will present itself one day."

Marcel nearly jumped off the bar in his enthusiasm. "How about tonight? I'll meet you right here, 9 o'clock."

"I'll take it under consideration," Camille allowed and Stephanie grinned. "Goodbye, Stephanie. Maybe I'll see you later, and good luck with your _problem_." She gave Klaus a significant look and disappeared out the glass door.

"A little harsh," Marcel said with a smile as he watched her leave.

"Or maybe you've just lost your touch," Klaus teased lightly and Marcel mock glared. Then the vampire turned to Steph and gave her an assessing look.

Finally, he said, "Well, she doesn't look pregnant, but there's this peculiar smell in the air that's just a little too sweet . . ." Marcel trailed off.

"Really?" Stephanie looked at Klaus.

"I had to tell him," Klaus excused, eyes wide. "He's my partner. We share things."

"Well maybe he'll let you share the bed tonight because you won't be with me," Stephanie said lightly. Marcel cackled. Stephanie turned away and strode to the door, hoping to maybe catch up with Camille. She paused and called back, "Oh, and by the way, Klaus. Kol's here for a visit; thought you might want to know."

She followed Cami down the street, pausing only when she got a text from Klaus. I HAVE A PLAN. COMPEL CAMILLE TO GIVE MARCEL A CHANCE. I'LL EXPLAIN LATER, PROMISE.

WHY? She demanded.

BECAUSE THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG, SO I NEED A COUPLE OF SPIES ON MARCEL.

I'M STILL PISSED AT YOU.

I HAVE TO GET MARCEL'S TRUST. THAT'S ALL. PLEASE.

Stephanie shoved her phone into her pocket furiously, but called out to Cami. "Hey, Camille! Wait up!" She was going to regret this. "Want to get lunch?"

.

.

.

Kol wandered. He hadn't been in New Orleans for a while, the last time being when his family had been run out shortly after the bar fight he'd gotten into with Damon Salvatore. It had changed, and quite a bit at that. The werewolves seemed to completely gone and the witches were scattered and beneath Marcel's thumb. The vampires seemed to all work for the 'king.'

Well, the ones that hadn't got in his way still worked for their king. The ones that had were now ash and dust in the wind.

Kol wanted to find Elijah and release him from his prison for a few answers that he knew Klaus would be cagey about, like why the hell they were in New Orleans anyway and what was going on with the witches. Also, little as Kol wanted to admit it, Elijah was a useful for planning things out and was a good balance for both Kol and Klaus' impulsivity and as Klaus had called it at the beginning of the summer, Kol's _special brand of psychosis_. Later, when he had freed Elijah, Kol would worry about Rebekah, because things just weren't nearly as fun without her there to irritate.

He'd had some fun during the summer, trying to get Bonnie Bennett out of his head and he reluctantly admitted _his heart_. Unfortunately, Kol had discovered that was easier said than done, so he'd made the trip to New Orleans at last to find out what Klaus wanted. His curiosity had been killing him.

Kol searched by scent for his daggered siblings, but it appeared that they had just disappeared off the face of the earth, which suggested magical interference and therefore, a challenge. And if there was one thing that Kol liked, it was a challenge. He went back to the Mikaelson property that Klaus and Stephanie were staying at and found some of Elijah's things to help him scry for his brother.

Then he had to go into town and purchase a new crystal. Scrying was a bit like using a locator spell, but the latter needed blood to track someone, _live_ blood. Which the vampire family decidedly did _not_ have. So scrying it was. The magic shops mostly looked like fakes, but Kol found a few distinguishing characteristics after wandering for a bit that would help him differentiate between what was real and what was just selling little baubles for the tourists. Eventually, he found one.

"Hello, there. I seem to be in need of a crystal. Have any of those in here?" Kol called as he stepped inside. A young witch stood behind the counter. She looked up with large, expression eyes.

"Sure," She chirped. "We have a few. Are you getting something for your girlfriend back home?"

"I'm actually going to be using it scry for my lost brother," Kol explained. He smirked. "So, about the crystal?"

The girl blinked and then beamed. "You're a witch? Like, a real one? You're obviously not one of the French Quarter ones . . . sorry, rude. I'm Katie!"

"Nice to meet you. Crystal, please?" He did not want to get into it with another small town witch. The thought of Bonnie and Expression still made him cringe.

Katie's smile wavered only a little. "Definitely, sorry. Hold on one second." She held up one finger and then disappeared into a back room. Kol browsed the front of the magic shop a bit, curiously sticking his nose into shelves and books. He'd missed magic. And there sure as hell hadn't been things like this when he could actually connect to it before, so he was going to take advantage.

"Here we go!" Katie returned. She handed him the small crystal that was already intricately tied to thin, but hardy rope. Perfect for swinging over a map of NOLA. She gave him the price, which he paid easily. "Thanks for visiting! I hope you return with your future magic needs."

Kol had to smile at her naivety, but said nothing more to the young witch as he left the store. He made the trip back to the Mikaelson mansion and quickly ransacked the house, looking for a map of the French Quarter.

Then he set to work.

.

.

.

"You take me to the nicest places," Klaus said dryly. He followed Marcel down the ramp of the parking garage despite his disinclinations and was surprised to find a large van and a couple of Marcel's men waiting beside it.

"How was the catch?" Marcel called. When they got closer, Thierry and Diego opened the bag of the van to reveal two young people sitting up, terrified, in black body bags.

"Not very good." Thierry leaned against the van's open door. "They're not much."

"Well, they'll have to do, considering I just lost six nightwalkers." Marcel's eyes slid to Klaus. The hybrid shrugged.

"I admit that it was probably Kol, considering what Stephanie told me this morning." Klaus said. "But since I haven't seen my only little brother, I'll have to wait to reprimand his actions." Diego growled under his breath, but Klaus only shot him a conceited smirk.

"Well, I hope I don't need to remind you that you're a guest here, buddy, and that I don't have time for Mikaelson family drama. Keep your brother on a leash."

"You'd have more luck draining the Mississippi with a straw," Klaus said darkly. He then stood back, intrigued, as Diego opened the van's back door to reveal two young people, a girl and a boy. Marcel began to spin a rose colored spiel about vampire life and the French Quarter.

"What do you think, buddy?" Marcel put a hand to Klaus' shoulder and pulled him in closer. "Cute girl or dorky, gay best friend?"

"I say you do dealer's choice," Klaus suggested lightly. Marcel beamed and clapped him on the back. He rushed forward and pulled out a pretty gold coin and showed it to the two transitioning vampires.

"This this coin? I'm going to drop it in about three seconds. Whoever picks it up lives forever, and the other . . . well, _dies_, but for good this time. So, who'll it be?" Marcel flipped the coin and it fell to the floor of the van. The blonde girl and her olive toned friend looked at each other with wide, scared eyes, before the girl dove toward the coin just a split second later.

"Damn!" Marcel laughed. "_Damn_."

"How could you?" The teenage boy demanded of the blonde. He looked at her with wide, betrayed eyes.

She only curled her lip in contempt. "Get over it, Josh. It's not like I had a choice – you would have done the same thing!"

Josh's mouth opened to argue, but Marcel flashed into the back of the vehicle before he got the chance. His strong arms darted out and snapped the pretty little blonde's neck and she fell backwards onto the carpet. He zipped her up.

"Let her die in cold storage," Marcel told Thierry and Diego sharply. Then he turned to Josh, but Klaus saw the look his protégée shot him beforehand. "I've got a thing about people who betray their friends. Come on, let's go for a ride." Thierry and Diego stepped forward and lugged the full body bag out of the car and over their shoulders, while Marcel pushed Josh farther into the van before shutting the door.

"I'm driving," Marcel said to Klaus with a smile. "But you can have shotgun."

"How kind of you," Klaus said dryly. He slipped into the passenger side and let Marcel drive them out of the parking garage and up into the daylight once more. Outside, the streets were streaming with people and drum lines, a constant river of partying. He wondered if Stephanie was out and about with them – she was probably still pissed, Klaus knew, but it was all a part of the game. If Steph had to stay in New Orleans because of some spell, it would be best that Marcel didn't grasp the depth of Klaus' feelings for her. Or else she would become one of the witches' pawns, but one of Marcel's, as well. Klaus just had to explain that.

There was also the problem of Kol. If he was killing random night walkers, he didn't care about Marcel's rule, but that really actually endeared him a little more to Klaus. Maybe he could get him to remove the spell on Stephanie, and then she could escape if she had to and wouldn't be part of the witches' big game of chess . . . Klaus would take care of Marcel either way, but he preferred it if his Ripper didn't get hurt. Or the baby.

Marcel parked a few feet away from the entrance of the parking garage and stepped away to make a phone call. Klaus brought Josh from the van to a big black Jeep Grand Cherokee and shoved him inside before the mite got the chance to burn in the sunlight. A sudden thought struck him. He sat in the back seat with the vampire in transition and turned to face him.

The kid, Josh, looked at him with inquisitive eyes. "Um, hey?"

Klaus had to compel him before Marcel got the brat onto vervain. "_Listen, kid. I have something I need you to do for me_."

.

.

.

"A church? Really?" Kol furrowed his brows as he stared up at the building he'd marked down on his map. _"Really?"_

He stepped through the overarching doorway and slowly made his way down the middle aisle between the pews. It was an older church and its architecture was something that Klaus would appreciate, Kol noticed. He began to search the entire building, top to bottom to find his big brother.

When he was about to blow something up in frustration in one of the linen closets, he heard a creak above him. Kol's head shot upwards. Stairs. He flashed out of the small storage space and located some old, creaky wooden steps and practically flew up them. At the top was a door with light peeking between the cracks.

Kol pushed it open.

Inside revealed a room decorated almost exactly how Kol would imagine a teenage girl's to be, and there was art and sketches littered throughout and strung up on the walls and the ceiling. To his left and at the end of the room was a dark headed girl facing her mirror. To his right was Elijah's coffin.

The girl stood up slowly and turned around. Kol thought she couldn't be older than seventeen, at the most. "Who are you?" Her voice was level and unafraid. Curious. He tried to step over the threshold, but there was an invisible force holding him back.

"Kol Mikaelson." He gave her a bright smile. "And I'd like to come in."

"We all want things," The girl said. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for that, actually." Kol pointed at Elijah's coffin. "So, if you don't mind, I'll take him and be on my merry way . . ."

"No," The girl snapped and the room shook. Kol's brows surged upwards.

"You're a _witch_?" He was delighted.

The girl folded her arms. "My _name_ is Davina. And yes, I'm a witch and you're an Old One."

"But I am handsome." Kol smirked and leaned on the door hinge. His spiky hair flattened a little when he rested his head on the wood paneling.

Davina sniffed. "Hm. If you're an Old One, that means you're related to _him_." She jerked her head toward Elijah.

Kol hummed. "That's right, darling. So tell me, what's with the witches in the French Quarter? How does Marcel control them? Does he know about you?" He could feel the magic humming through her veins, buzzing just beneath the surface of her skin and it made Kol's dead heart beat a little faster to feel all that power.

Davina smiled. "Maybe. Does he know about _you_?"

Kol shrugged. "Probably. I did kill some of his nightwalkers. Pesky fellows, those vampires were." Davina frowned at him.

"You shouldn't upset Marcel," She scolded.

"Why not?" Kol scoffed. "He can't hurt me, darling. You said it yourself, I'm an _Old One_. I can't be killed."

"But I can. Hurt you, that is." Davina raised her hand and Kol felt an invisible pressure tighten around his throat and lift him up off of his feet. He licked his lips and tried to think of some kind of counter spell, but she hadn't spoken aloud. He didn't know what kind of enchantment she was using.

She uncurled her fingers and he dropped to the floor. Her gaze lifted to some point above his head. "There you are," Davina greeted. "We have a visitor."

"I can see that," Marcel's voice came from behind him. "What's he doing here?"

"He wants Elijah."

"Well, that's a problem, isn't it?" Marcel stepped to the left. "Could you make him a little compliant for me? I need to get him out of here."

"Of course." Davina raised her hand again and then everything went dark.

.

.

.

"I'd like to know why you just had me compel Cami to spy on Marcel."

"Because it's part of my diabolical plan."

"Now you sound like Damon."

"Can't have that, now can we, love?" Stephanie and Klaus' bickering petered off when they found Kol lounging in the living with a bottle of Jack in hand. His dark eyes lit up when they caught sight of the couple, and he grinned.

"Hello there, darlings. Guess where I've been?"

"Where?" Stephanie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I've no clue," Kol said cheerfully and topped off the glass tumbler on the coffee table. Klaus and Stephanie exchanged intrigued glances with each other before coming farther into the room and settling on the couch across from Kol. "But I can get back there."

"What happened, then?" Klaus asked, long suffering.

"I found Elijah; he's being guarded by a very pretty witch." Kol sipped his drink before meeting Klaus' surprised eyes. "She's extremely powerful."

"Marcel has a witch that doesn't want to kill him?" Stephanie asked, intrigued.

Kol hummed. "She's young – a teenager, but so, so powerful."

"As you've said." Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Why were you hunting down Elijah?"

"Because we need the bloody wanker," Kol said dryly. "I don't know what you're up to, but if you hadn't noticed, neither of our," he gestured between him and his older brother, "plans ever work, loathe am I to admit it. The girl, Davina, wiped the place of where she and Elijah were of my memory but I can find her again by doing what I did the first time: scry for Elijah. Now, Marcel told me that everything in this place is his, including Elijah, until he feels like giving it back. Which, might I add, he didn't sound particularly inclined to do. So I wouldn't suggest giving up Rebekah, or else we'll never get any of it back, brother."

"Bloody hell," Klaus snapped and glowered at floor. "A witch?"

"Not just any witch, Niklaus. She's something I've never seen before. Her power? It rivals the black Expression that diluted Bonnie Bennett's veins for weeks. Who knows what she can do to Elijah?"

"So, in other words, Klaus screwed up," Stephanie deadpanned. She side-eyed Klaus, who cursed.

"You gave our brother to the most powerful being in New Orleans. Good going." Kol took another drink.

"She must be Marcel's secret weapon," Klaus muttered. He stood abruptly and punched the wall, breaking a fist sized hole into it. "Damn it!" He roared. "How could I have been so stupid?!" He'd been trying to gain Marcel's trust quickly since he was getting impatient, but had inadvertently put his brother into very, very dangerous hands in the process. Damn it.

"Klaus," Stephanie interrupted suddenly, drawing the attention of the two Originals. "What do you have against Marcel anyway? Kol said you were like family. What happened?"

Klaus pressed his lips together in a fine line. He rubbed his fist as he turned away from the hole he'd made. "I gave him everything, and when Mikael chased me and my family out of New Orleans a hundred years ago, we'd thought he'd died. So we mourned him. But when I returned with you, I learned that he'd stayed and not only survived, he'd _thrived_. Instead of seeking us out, instead of sticking together as one, he made a choice to take everything my family had built and made it his. Now, he's living in our home, he's sleeping in our beds . . . that 'M' he stamps everywhere in town, it's not for _Marcel_, it's for _Mikaelson_. I want it all back and if I have to push him out to get it, that's exactly what I'll do."

Stephanie sat back on the couch and waited for Klaus to cool off, while Kol folded his legs together.

"So, what's the plan?"

Klaus pointed down at Kol. "We track down Elijah again and wake him up. Then we hurry the witches along. Cami and Josh hopefully prove to be useful spies. Then, we wait."

Well, Stephanie mused tiredly, her life was never boring anymore.

.

.

.

Davina heard the telltale creak of heavy booted feet on the wood floor of her loft and instinctively knew it was Marcel coming to call. She didn't lose her focus though, and her hand continued its rapid movements across the easel with a stick of charcoal held loosely in her fingers. Davina had to get the pictures in her head onto paper before she lost it. She didn't stop until Marcel laid a hand lightly across her shoulder.

She turned.

"Sorry about that unpleasantness with Kol." Marcel looked at her big, regret filled eyes.

"He doesn't scare me," Davina told him flatly. "None of them do."

"I didn't think they would, honey. But it looks like they're here to stay." Marcel's lips turned down into an upset frown and he rubbed her shoulders.

Davina's nostrils flared. "They don't belong here!"

"It might be kind of tough to convince them that, which is why I need to ask you a favor." Marcel's intent gaze slid over to the Old One's coffin and then back to her. "I'm gonna need you to figure out how to kill an Original."

.

.

.

Tbc.


	2. a little party never killed nobody

Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries or the originals, or any quotes used/borrowed.

Notes: If you're still with me, that's awesome! Thanks!

* * *

**a little party never killed nobody**

"_Well you are my accuser, now look in my face  
your oppression reeks of your greed and disgrace  
so one man has and another has not  
how can you love what it is you have got."_

_._

_._

_._

"Marcel refuses to return to Elijah."

"Did you expect any different?" Stephanie asked critically, but otherwise didn't react to Klaus. She stepped forward and put a hand to Josh's wrist, stilling him. "No, Josh, making small incisions will prolong the pain. We want to do this efficiently so it will hurt him less."

"Sorry." Josh shrugged and sent her an apologetic look. "I'm not very versed in this medieval torture stuff yet." He offered her the dagger, which she took and exchanged for a sharp metal pole.

"Here." She gave it to Josh before Klaus could decide to make the whole thing into an ordeal. They were in the basement of some industrial building, far away from prying eyes and ears.

"Why are we doing this?" Josh asked. He winced as she shoved the metal piece through the hanging vampire's gut. The vampire cried out and his body jerked forward in his restraints. "If we're not trying to torture him, I mean." Blood began to seep from the wound and the smell cloyed in the air and clogging Stephanie's nose.

"We're trying to drain all of the vervain out of his system so Klaus can compel him," Stephanie explained tightly. "Vervain blocks compulsion. I'm sorry, by the way, about the compulsion. I've been compelled before . . . it's not especially pleasant." She shot Klaus a sharp look and the hybrid whistled innocently.

Josh shrugged. "Eh. I'm okay, but then again, I guess that's the mind control talking?"

"Alright, ladies," Klaus interrupted abruptly, clearly tired of conversation. "Have you heard from Kol?" This, he directed at Stephanie.

"He went to see Sophie Devereux so he can get a read on her magic. He's going to try and disentangle her life force from the baby's." Stephanie rubbed her abdomen and looked away when Josh stabbed the strung up vampire again. The sight of it made her nauseous.

"You know," Josh interrupted. "I don't really get this compulsion thing. Vampires can compel humans, you said, but regular vampires can't compel regular vampires? And who's Kol again?"

"Originals can compel regular vampires," Klaus confirmed with a head of his head. "No one can compel Originals, including other Originals."

"And Kol is another Original vampire," Stephanie replied.

"He has magic," Klaus added. "But that doesn't leave this room. It's a secret." He put his pointer finger to his lips on top of a smile.

Josh shrugged. "Whatever, man." Then he took out the metal pole and plunged it into the other nightwalker's gut again, making blood and guts spill out. A wave of nausea nearly knocked Stephanie over and she clapped a hand to her mouth. She flashed out of the parking garage and into the open air before kneeling down and vomiting up a fountain of blood into the grass.

"That doesn't look good," A masculine voice came from somewhere above her head. She had fallen onto her hands and knees while she vomited and prepared to rise, but another wave of nausea rolled over her. Steph was sent back down and coughed, expelling more blood from her quickly emptying stomach. She turned her head to the side and breathed through her mouth for a moment to try and get taste of old blood out of her system.

A tanned hand appeared at eye level, which Stephanie warily took. Strong arms pulled her up and settled her back onto her unsteady feet. She used the back of her hand to wipe the blood off of her mouth before looking at her helper's face. It was Thierry, standing there with his hands in his pockets and in one of his cute little caps, tilted at an angle on his head.

"Vampires don't usually throw up," He said casually before discreetly eyeing the congealed blood on the grass. "And they don't get sick."

"Drank some bad vervain," Stephanie said and she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "It must have been molded."

"Must have been," Thierry said slowly, "either that or you're lying to me."

"Now, why would I do that?" Steph lifted her chin in an attempt to become eye level with the taller vampire.

"You're protecting your psychotic boyfriend," Thierry suggested. "From what, I'm not sure, but I'm fairly certain I can find out."

"To do what, tell Marcel?" Stephanie asked. "He already knows."

"He would have told his inner circle." Thierry glowered. He would have told _me_, remained unsaid but it still sat uncomfortably in the air around them.

"It's not a big deal, Thierry, so I'd suggest going back Marcel before he starts wondering where you are," Stephanie said lightly. Thierry narrowed his eyes and turned to grudgingly oblige, but heard a scream emerge down below from the parking garage.

"What's that?" He demanded sharply. "What's going on down there?"

"Nothing that concerns you." Klaus was an idiot for draining someone of vervain in a mildly public place; he'd have been better off doing it at the mansion. She fought the urge to glance backward and give anything away.

"I think it concerns Marcel." Thierry shouldered passed her but Stephanie's hand shot out and grabbed him by the bicep. He tugged forward but she had him in an iron grip. He shot her a surprised and slightly infuriated look.

Stephanie's words echoed something Lexi had once said. "I'm older than you and that means stronger."

"You were also throwing your guts up five minutes ago," Thierry sneered and in one quick motion, shot a hand out to her abdomen and pushed her backward. He flashed away while Stephanie's nausea returned full force, knocking her to her knees. Thierry hadn't used enough pressure to damage the baby, Stephanie thought – hoped – but blood was coming back up her esophagus. She retched.

"Damn it," She cursed through bloodied lips. Steph got to her feet in time to watch Klaus striding toward her with a glazed, murderous glint in his eyes.

He shot a glance at Stephanie and his brows shot up. "What happened?" He strode to her side in a second, hand on her shoulder and the other on her hip. Klaus' eyes narrowed. "Did Thierry do this to you?"

Stephanie waved a dismissive hand. "I threw up, it's fine."

"That's not normal," Klaus snapped.

"It is if you're pregnant," Stephanie whispered tightly and the hybrid immediately drew back a little.

"Oh. Right." It was slightly amusing to see one of the most powerful creatures on earth to be squirming uncomfortably. "Well. Are you okay?"

"Still nauseous," Stephanie admitted.

Klaus pursed his lips. "Anything I . . . can do?"

"Not really."

"Well then. I have to find out Thierry's weaknesses while he's . . . occupied."

"Where is he?" Stephanie looked down at the parking garage entrance and then back at Klaus' blue eyes.

"I may have snapped his neck," He said casually.

"Isn't Marcel going to get suspicious while he's gone?" Stephanie asked dryly. "Thierry is kind of a _little_ important to him."

Klaus threw up his arms. "What was I supposed to do? Let him run and tattle to Marcel? At least now this gives me some time to figure out a plan."

"Something going on?" Klaus and Stephanie's heads jerked simultaneously to look at the newest arrival. Kol. "I talked to Miss Devereux about forgetting to tell us about Davina. She doesn't know where they're keeping the little witch, and it seems to me that this is the primary reason for their little war on Marcel; she apparently can track all the magic that is performed in the French Quarter. Obviously, they want her back." He crossed his arms. "This also puts a kink in our plans to rescue Elijah. If she can track me scrying for him, she'll sense it and be prepared for someone to come and get him."

Stephanie furrowed her brows. "Then we just need a smokescreen. Get someone else to perform a stronger spell to distract Davina while you scry for Elijah."

Kol and Klaus exchanged glances. "Do we get Sophie to do it?"

Klaus hummed. "Maybe."

"Did you find anything out about the binding spell?" Stephanie asked Kol. She wanted to know before they got any further into this.

Kol wiggled his fingers. "Yes. I can identify Sophie's magic and there's a spell in Mum's grimoire that can remove the link between you two. Lucky for us I brought it with me from Mystic Falls."

Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Where did you get her grimoire?"

"Elijah. You know, before _you_ gave him away." Kol eyed Klaus. "While we're having this chat, I thought it might be a good idea to toss around the idea of letting Rebekah out. A show of force and all – three Originals are better than two." He crossed his arms and Stephanie too looked at Klaus, waiting.

"No," Klaus said sharply. He made a sharp, jerky hand motion. "We don't know what she'll do at this point. It's best if we let things settle first before we open _that _can of worms. Now, I've got to go and plan Thierry's downfall. Josh is draining one vampire of vervain and keeping an eye on Thierry in the garage. I'll figure out our witchy distraction while I'm out." He flashed away quickly, determined.

"Guess it's just you and me, darling." Kol smirked. "Let's get started then while we watch Klaus' friends in the garage, shall we?"

Stephanie pinched the bridge of her nose and fought the urge to vomit again as she followed the Original down into the dark. "Let's make this quick, please. Klaus is about to do something idiotic and I should probably be there to stop him."

"No promises."

.

.

.

"So, this is college?" Elena eyed the building with clear distaste. "What was I thinking when I applied _here_?"

"That you wanted to be close to Jeremy," Caroline said in a diminutive voice. "Sorry." She tried to perk back up and she rushed to say, "But I'm sure we'll love it! It's the three of us against the world!"

"Right. One witch with zero powers, a perky cheerleader, and a reforming serial killer are going to college together." Bonnie sent Caroline and Elena a dry look. "Sounds like a blast to me."

"I'm not reforming," Elena sniffed.

"Moving on!" Caroline jumped between the witch and the other vampire before it came to blows. "Let's get our stuff up into our dorm room!"

"Mini-fridge, coming through," A voice hollered behind them and the girls turned to look at a smirking Damon strolling toward them with a boxed up refrigerator. "Ladies."

"Damon." Elena rolled her eyes. "I don't need a babysitter; you gave me the two sheriffs of the fun police." She jerked her thumbs at Bonnie and Caroline. "They're here to make sure I don't kill anyone and try to persuade me to 'turn it back on.'" She scoffed.

Caroline and Bonnie exchanged tight smiles.

"You're also going to drink cheap beer and protest about things you don't really care about," Damon said pointedly. "Because you're going to have to the typical, human college experience that you wanted."

"What boring, humanity-me wanted," Elena pointed out. "_I_ just want to have some fun."

"Too bad." Damon grinned. "So, where's the dorm?" The girls turned around and carried their baskets of things to stick in their room with Damon trailing behind them. Liz came up beside Damon, helping Caroline with her things, and Rudy parked the car somewhere in the lot.

"This had better be the last box," Liz whispered to Damon behind the girls' backs.

Damon smirked. "You wish."

Elena, Caroline and Bonnie's room was located on the third floor of the women's dormitory, and the three vampires, one witch and one mom made several trips back and forth until all their things were sitting around their dorm on the floor, on beds and in the closet.

"Done," Liz breathed and turned to Caroline. The bouncy blonde vampire dove for her mother's arms and wrapped her into a tight goodbye hug, while Bonnie stepped outside to talk to her father one last time before he left. Damon pulled Elena aside.

"Call me if you have any issues," He warned. "You can't kill random students without some kind of blowback here, okay?"

"You're such a worrywart." Elena sighed, put upon.

"This place could be dangerous." Damon glared. "This is serious, Elena."

"This is college," Elena corrected. "I'm here to 'drink cheap beer and protest stuff I don't really care about.'"

"And not kill the locals," Damon persisted and then rolled his eyes. "God, I sound like Stephanie right now."

"Then go find her and apologize for mocking her. Bye, Damon," Elena said pointedly.

"What, no kiss?" Damon asked mockingly. He'd had to shove many of his feelings down for Elena all summer and at least try and pretend he wasn't so madly in love with her, because to Elena – or at least _this _Elena – their relationship was physical only, with no strings attached. He had to guard his heart or else this humanity-less spree was going to kill him.

She darted in and kissed him teasingly, lingering long to get Damon interested, before she pulled back abruptly. She waved with her fingers and he forced himself to detach. Damon walked out with Liz and tried to think about other things than the fact that his girlfriend was kind of a bitch at that moment and needed around-the-clock babysitters to keep her from murdering innocents.

Like, why the hell was his baby sister hanging out in New Orleans, helping Klaus?

He passed a short young woman on his way out of the dormitories, whom was carrying several bags in her arms. He paid her no more attention than that and she was already out his mind by the time he got to his car in the lot.

.

.

.

By the time Klaus returned to their temporary place in the parking garage, Josh had finished bloodletting the other nightwalker and had probably snapped Thierry's neck four times. The grimoire was sitting in Kol's lap as he looked at it intently between quietly chanting a spell that sounded lyrical in the air. Stephanie sat across from him, hands in her lap and eyes closed.

She glanced up when she heard Klaus.

"The plan's been orchestrated," He announced. "Josh, is he ready?"

"Yep." Josh nodded and gave his bloody hands a disturbing, disgusted glance. He discreetly patted them on his jeans, hoping to get the dark substance off. Kol's chanting grew a little louder and Stephanie felt something twist in her stomach.

"Brilliant." Klaus ripped the chains off of the nightwalker's wrists and ankles. The vampire fell to the ground. Steph stopped paying attention then, too preoccupied with the wriggling sensation in her abdomen. She pushed her hands into her stomach to lessen the feeling, but all that served to do was make her queasy again. Kol's chanting stopped and the loud boom of him closing the grimoire echoed through the underground parking garage.

"Is that it?" Stephanie asked quickly. She got to her feet and resisted the urge to stagger when the world tilted on its axis.

"I'd say so." Kol stood as well. "You're_ free_." His sardonic lilt on the word suggested that he knew that she was only theoretically welcome to leave.

"Good." Klaus' voice boomed. Stephanie turned her head to see the nightwalker standing perfectly still and slightly blank faced – already compelled. Thierry was strung up, conscious, in the place where the nightwalker had just been. "I've got another minion to do my bidding. After I drain Thierry here of all of the vervain in his system, we'll be implementing the first part of our plan to rescue Elijah. It's multifaceted, just in case."

"It'll never work," Thierry's voice spat behind them. "Marcel's smarter than that, Klaus. He doesn't trust you."

"You're right." Klaus grinned. "But he trusts _you_. And do you know what I found out today? You've got a little romance with one of the witches in the Quarter. I think she'll do fine for our smokescreen."

Thierry's bloodless face somehow became several shades whiter. "What?"

"Katie, is it?" Klaus mused. He walked leisurely over to the hanging vampire, taking his time and letting Thierry know he didn't have a care in the world for his girl. "She's so young, so . . . _naïve_."

"Don't you touch her," Thierry snapped. He shook his fists in a vain attempt to free himself, but all it served to do was rattle the chains.

"I won't lay a finger on her." Klaus promised. "But him?" He pointed at the nightwalker standing unnaturally still. His eyes seemed to be glazed over, dead looking. It made Stephanie clench her fists; she'd helped get him to that state. It was too late to feel guilty about now. "He has no problems with roughing up the witch a bit, especially since she'll be performing a spell to take down Marcel. You'll swoop in to save the day and kill the nightwalker. Then I'll have to protect Marcel from Katie. He'll be so _grateful_ that he'll return Elijah to me. If not, Kol will have located him again anyway. It's a win-win, situation, you see."

Thierry's body trembled, his eyes an inferno of blind rage. He roared in anger, "Leave her _alone_!"

"Klaus." Stephanie agreed with Thierry. "You can't kill an innocent for this. This witch wasn't involved until you made her that way. We'll just get Sophie to do a bigger spell and distract Davina. We can think of another back up plan."

Klaus made eye contact and placed his hands onto her shoulders gently, but firmly. "This is a war, love," his voice was cold, at odds with his heated demeanor, "and you can't win a war with no strategic losses, no matter how regrettable they might be." His fingers uncurled from her shoulders and Klaus deliberately turned away. Stephanie's nostrils flared in anger. Klaus paid the rest of them no mind as he strode forward and jabbed Thierry with a long piece of sharp metal. "I need to make this quick so we can get this done tonight."

It was a clear dismissal.

Stephanie stiffly strode out of the parking garage, already formulating ways to keep Katie out of harm's way.

.

.

.

"We have a fourth roommate?" Caroline raged. "How did this _happen_?" She put her hands on her hips and paced. The girl who'd introduced herself as Megan King and their roommate had disappeared to get a few more of her things she'd left in the car several minutes ago, leaving the remaining three girls to sort themselves out.

"There could have been a mistake at the housing office," Bonnie suggested. "But there are four beds, Care. It's not that much of a shock that they'd put someone in here to fill it."

"But Steph was supposed to come with us," Caroline moaned and flopped onto her own bed. Her voice came out muffled as she spoke into her pillow. "That was going to be _hers_." She grunted loudly to make her point.

"Stephanie's in New Orleans gallivanting with Klaus," Elena pointed out unhelpfully. She looked a little amused. "I doubt she's coming back anytime soon. But if we really want to get rid of Megan King, I'll compel her. Or kill her."

Caroline sprang back up, other worries seemingly forgotten in the face of Elena's yearning to murder someone they'd just met. "No! No killing allowed! Especially not roommates – that's suspicious and it'll draw attention to us!"

"Completely unwanted and unnecessary attention," Bonnie added helpfully. She shot Elena a firm look. "We don't want that and we don't want innocents hurt."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Okay. Fine. But I can compel her?"

"I thought we wanted to have a regular, no-supernatural college experience?" Caroline asked. Compulsion kind of defeats the purpose of that, right?" She bit her lip. She really wanted to keep with that and have as normal of an education as possible, but to have some unknown human roommate . . . it might be worth it. Just this once.

"Like I said," Elena's tone was flat. "That's what the other Elena wanted. I really don't care."

"Someone accidentally scratched my car up when opening their side door, but it's not a huge deal and I think I can get some paint for it today when I'm getting a dress for that party welcoming the new freshmen . . ." Megan's loud voice announced her arrival as she strode through with one last brown box of things that she set carefully onto her bed. She glanced up, noticing the unnatural silence. "Is something wrong?"

Elena opened her mouth, but Caroline hurriedly jumped in before the newer vampire could speak. "Did you mention a party?"

Megan blinked. "Yeah. It's tonight, starting at eight at the Whitmore House. Are you guys going to come?"

"We'd love to!" Caroline gushed. She gave her best friends a strained smile. "Wouldn't we, you guys?"

"Sure," Bonnie said and even Elena tilted her head in interest.

Megan grinned. "Great! I'm going to get a shower. We can leave in a few hours." She grabbed some of her clothes from a box and then a towel and headed to the bathroom. The three other girls breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared. Caroline turned and opened their miniature fridge.

"No blood yet, unfortunately." She paused. "Wait. Did she already put _her_ stuff in _our_ fridge?" Caroline shot Bonnie and Elena an offended glance. "Rude." She snatched one of the water bottles Megan had managed to sneak into the fridge and unscrewed the tap.

"Isn't that a little petty?" Bonnie asked.

"Maybe," Caroline sniffed and tossed back the water.

She promptly threw it straight back up, coughing and choking. Elena's brows arched in curiosity while Bonnie dove over to Caroline's side. "Care? Caroline?"

"Vervain!" She hissed. "She has to know about us!"

"Now can I kill her?" Elena asked idly.

.

.

.

Stephanie went in search of the witch, Katie. Unfortunately, she didn't know where to look and had to ask around town to find out she had a little magic shop in the Quarter. When she got there, Steph found a sign in the window saying that the store was closed for the day, which from what Stephanie had gathered from the people in town, was highly unusual. She narrowed her eyes and wrapped one hand around the doorknob and twisted it sharply, breaking the lock. Bells jingled as she opened the wooden door and stepped inside.

Steph could hear the reliable thumping of a heartbeat in the back of the shop and she sighed in relief, glad to have gotten there before Klaus had taken the young witch.

"Katie?" Stephanie called quietly as she followed the heartbeat. She gently pushed aside the dangling beads separating the main store from the back rooms where there appeared to be extra stock, a restroom and kitchen utensils on the counter, and most importantly, a round table where Katie sat with an open book. A young black woman looked up when Steph spoke, eyes a little unfocused. Steph's stomach clenched. Compulsion?

"You're not supposed to be here," Katie said cheerfully. She continued flipping through a magic book and scribbled something onto some paper. "Klaus said I had to watch out for your arrival."

Stephane strode forward. "Katie, we need to get out of here. You're in danger."

"Oh, I know. But Kol said to not be afraid, so I'm not. It's strange, isn't it? I feel like I should be, but I'm not." Katie hummed a little and then broke out into a smile as she found whatever it was she was looking for. She raised her hands and began to chant.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that," Stephanie said quietly, intensely. "You'll be killed."

Katie glanced up. "No, _I'm_ sorry." She directed her hands at Stephanie and an intense migraine built up from behind her eyes, making Steph's hands fly up to her head. She gasped raggedly and slowly sank to her knees. "But I have to do this. Kol said so." Then darkness came for Stephanie, pulling her under.

When she woke, the sun was setting and there was screaming coming from the streets. Stephanie jerked from her slumped position against the wall and her eyes tracked every moment in the darkness, but detected nothing in the back room. The sound of breaking glass made Stephanie leap to her feet and rush to the front of the store.

There, Katie was being held by the neck to the wall by the nightwalker from the parking garage, fangs out as he prepared to ravage her. Stephanie sped in his direction and flung him off, sending the nightwalker tumbling feet over head backward over the counter. The cash register made a sharp noise as his body crashed into it. The vampire was up and diving toward them again in a matter of seconds. Stephanie shoved Katie behind her body roughly to protect her, but there was another blur in front of her before Stephanie had the chance to attack; Thierry, running to the rescue, brought a stake up and jabbed it through the nightwalker's heart, instantly making him shrivel up, withering into nothing but a greying carcass.

Stephanie turned around immediately to check on her charge, patting down Katie with deft, gentle fingers to make sure she was unharmed, but the witch tore herself out of Steph's grasp and ran into Thierry's embrace. She met his eyes across the tattered remains of the store and saw to recognition or condemnation; Klaus had drained him of vervain and compelled him as well then.

A heartbeat later and it seemed the entirety of Marcel's gang had flooded into the magic shop. Diego was at the forefront, staring wide-eyed at the nightwalker. His head whipped between the body, Thierry and Katie before briefly flashing onto Stephanie herself. "What – Thierry? What happened in here?"

"He was going to kill her," Thierry said, distracted. Katie bawled into his shoulder and he petted her hair with in a deft, practiced motion.

Diego's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. That's the witch that Marcel said was the one practicing magic. You should have let him kill her."

Katie burst into sobs anew and Thierry's grip on her tightened. "No," He said tightly.

"'_No_'? You just violated one of our laws, Thierry. You know what happens next," A new voice arrived. Stephanie looked at the doorway and narrowed her eyes; it was Marcel, and she could see Klaus at his shoulder. "You – you're my best friend, man and you have been for seventy years. But you know what this means. No one is exempted if they break the rules – and that's the most important one, Thierry. I saw you kill him. You – you have to go to the Garden, man." Marcel swallowed thickly.

Thierry stilled and Katie's sobs subsided for the first time. Her eyes widened and she looked at her vampire lover. "The Garden? But isn't that where they lock you up . . . starve you . . ."

Thierry slowly nodded his head and refused to look at Marcel. "Yes."

Katie's hands clenched on the material of Thierry's jacket. "No," She said firmly. "No."

Marcel arched his brows. "Oh?"

"No," Katie whispered again and she dropped her hold from Thierry. She raised her hands and the air immediately crackled with tension. Latin poured from her lips and the fury in her voice was almost tangible. Marcel dropped to the ground, sudden screams tearing from his throat. He scrabbled at the shop floor and blood began to pour from his ears.

Klaus and Stephanie rushed Katie at the same time, for very different reasons.

.

.

.

The girls went to the party at the Whitmore house together, but they forgot one key thing; they needed an invitation. "I still say that we conveniently get rid of Megan tonight," Elena said easily. She paused at the threshold as an invisible barrier kept her back. "Damn."

"I'll see if I can get someone to invite you in," Bonnie said quietly to the two vampires.

Ahead of them from inside the house, Megan called back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Caroline said a little shrilly. "Just . . . waiting for someone, that's all. We'll be in a while." Megan shrugged her shoulders, placated, and Bonnie disappeared into the house to find its owner. Elena crossed her arms and sighed, bored.

Caroline bit her nails. "We should find Megan tonight and drain the vervain out of her. Then we can compel her." Elena rolled her eyes and opened her mouth, but Caroline motioned for her to shut it. "I already know what you want to do!"

"Hey." Caroline spun around wildly, eyes wide. Behind her was an attractive young black man, maybe a sophomore or a junior. He had a nice, wide open smile and soft brown eyes. Caroline melted a little bit.

"Hi," She squeaked.

"Have I met you before?" He asked with a sweet smile.

"I think we ran into you in the quad earlier today," Elena said airily. "We just moved in today."

The man's smile broadened. "Must have. I'm Jesse." His dark eyes were locked onto Caroline's light blue ones.

"Caroline," She said. "That's my friend and roommate, Elena."

"Nice to meet you ladies," Jesse said and offered his hand. Caroline took it into hers and shook it gently, and Elena declined to touch him. "What are you doing standing out here?"

"Waiting for someone," Caroline said. "They should be here soon."

"Boyfriend?" Jesse fished.

Caroline became flustered. "No – no boyfriends right now. Last one ended a little – um, badly."

"To say the least," Elena interjected coolly. "He was a dick who ran off with a new friend." Caroline glared, while Jesse frowned in sympathy.

"I'm sorry. I recently had a bit of a bad relationship myself," He said. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm going in . . . you're welcome to find me when your friend shows up, okay?"

"Okay." Caroline nodded her head quickly and watched Jesse's back as he stepped over the threshold and into the throng of gyrating bodies. "Oh, he was cute." Before Elena could say something mocking, Caroline's phone began to ring; it was Bonnie. "Hey, where are you?"

"Inside." Caroline frowned at the sound of Bonnie's a voice; she was frantic and her breathing was hard. "There's a vampire chasing Megan. I've been following them, but my magic isn't working for me. It's been like this since they purged the Expression. I think my ancestors are still pissed."

"Where are you?" Caroline demanded.

"Second floor –" Bonnie was cut off by a scream and shattering glass. "Oh God, it just tore into her neck and threw her out the window." The phone cut off.

Caroline shot Elena a disturbed look and then as ran as fast as humanly possible toward the smell of blood. Elena was just behind her and nearly bowled Caroline over as they rounded a sharp corner of the Whitmore house, stumbling in their high heels in the grass when they caught side of the body. Megan was lying in the grass, head at an impossible angle and hunks of flesh torn right out of her neck. There were broken pieces of glass everywhere, and they looked up; they could see Bonnie's horrified face in the shattered window two stories above their heads.

"We've got to call 911!" Caroline took out her phone, but Elena grabbed it before she could call anyone.

"We'll be linked back to this," She hissed. "Weren't you the one just telling me about exposure? Those are vampire marks all over her neck."

"We have to do something!" Caroline snapped.

"I agree. First, we leave the body alone. Second, I do this." Elena stepped forward and rummaged around Megan's pockets until she found whatever she was looking for on the body. "Here. We'll see if there are any clues on her phone as to what she knew about vampires. Now let's get out of here before the campus patrol men show up." Elena slipped both Megan and Caroline's phones into her purse and then spun around on her heel.

There was nothing more for Bonnie and Caroline to do than follow behind their friend, aghast.

.

.

.

Klaus shoved Katie away from Marcel, sufficiently distracting her from her spell and consequently released Marcel of his pain. As the hybrid bent down to snap the witch's neck, Stephanie's fingers grasped the soft fabric of Katie's jacket and pulled her backward out of his reach. The witch's eyes were round with fear and anger as Stephanie placed her body firmly between Katie and the rest of the vampires waiting to kill her.

"Don't touch her," Stephanie warned quietly. "She was only defending Thierry."

"And was practicing magic to destroy _me_!" Marcel roared and he staggered to his feet. "Get out of the way or I'll make you." He took a threatening step forward, but Stephanie didn't cower or flinch. Her hands went behind her to grasp onto Katie's trembling arms and she held on tightly. Thierry came to stand behind his beloved, hands at her sides. He voiced nothing of his suspicions about Klaus – most likely they'd been compelled silent.

"She can leave the Quarter." Stephanie searched for an alternate solution. "You don't have to kill her."

"I told you to get out of the way," Marcel snapped angrily. A vein throbbed in his forehead. "_I_ decide the punishments around here, not _you_! She tried to kill me, so she's dead. Thierry killed another vampire, so he has to go to the Graveyard for a while. Then, all will be forgiven. But first, you have to _move_."

"Now, Marcel," Klaus began to intercede. The look he shot Stephanie said he wasn't happy; she felt a bit of smugness. "You're right – the witch and Thierry need to be punished. But why not be . . . creative about it? Send Thierry to the Graveyard. As for Katie . . . well, there's not worse punishment for a witch than to lose contact with the earth . . . and I'm sure she'd make a lovely vampire. She'd conveniently replace the nightwalker Thierry killed."

Behind her, Katie tensed. "No," She choked quietly. "Please, no." She began to tremble.

Slowly, Marcel began to grin. "Well, well, Klaus. You continue to impress me with your . . . ideas. Let's do it."

Stephanie fought the urge to snarl as Marcel grabbed Katie from behind her and force fed her some of his blood. Katie struggled, eyes round with fear and blame as they focused on her. Steph stepped forward to intervene, but Klaus' hand was thrown across her middle, holding her to his chest.

"I've already saved both of your lives tonight, love," Klaus whispered. "Somehow I don't think I could get convince Marcel that punishing you for intervening would be a bad idea."

"You won't let anything happen to me." She could say this with absolute confidence.

"True," Klaus said. "But it would definitely put us back in our plans to retrieve Elijah. Speaking of . . ." Marcel snapped Katie's neck and let her limp body drop to the dirty ground. Behind them, Thierry made a sharp keening noise as he rushed to cradle her head in his lap.

"Diego, take her back to the club and wake for her to wake up – feed her when she does. Klaus, help me lock up Thierry. Then we'll get a drink," Marcel commanded, and instantly his vampires were at his beck and call. Diego scooped Katie up none too delicately and carried her in a fireman's hold down the dark street; while Marcel and Klaus each took a shoulder of Thierry's and hauled him up to his feet. Thierry didn't struggle – he looked smaller and just a little bit defeated.

"I'll see you at home, love," Klaus said and he disappeared with Marcel.

Stephanie clenched her fists tightly and she turned on her heel. As she headed to the Mikaelson home, she entertained the idea of leaving New Orleans. The spell was off of the baby, releasing the hold the witches had on her, so clearly it was not a part of the Big Picture to take down Marcel anymore. Staying, she said to herself, was really just asking for trouble. Steph had thought she could reconcile Klaus' different parts, piece together his fragmented soul. He'd said he'd done the same for her, so she had supposed she owed it to him to at least try. But then he turned around and did something like this.

When she got into the Mikaelson home, Kol told her he'd located Elijah again. All they needed was for a human to get Elijah out for them.

She brushed passed Kol and headed up to her bedroom. Stephanie paced from her door to the window, listening to the messages on her phone from Caroline and Damon – Elena was at Whitmore, but her humanity was still off and it was all she and Bonnie could do to restrain her. They had had a fourth roommate who had known too much about them but she'd mysteriously died that night, killed by a different vampire, an _unknown_ vampire. Damon was nosy, asking what she was doing and why; when would she be home?

Stephanie wasn't sure. Because when she thought about it, she'd forgiven Damon for worse things than turning someone against their will. She'd given him so many chances and he was doing so much better with Elena. Maybe she owed it to Klaus to give him another chance too. He'd been trying to rescue his brother, after all, and Stephanie could not confidently say that she wouldn't do the same if it were Damon.

Downstairs, the door slammed. Briefly, Kol and Klaus spoke with each other at a low level before Klaus flashed up to her room. He knocked.

"That was a first," She said dryly as she opened the door.

"Kol found Elijah."

"I know."

"Did you know that Marcel offered him back to us?" Klaus drawled.

Stephanie pressed her lips together for a moment, and then asked sardonically, "Well, why wouldn't he, after you_ saved_ him from Katie and punished her at the same time?"

"Someone sounds bitter."

"Katie's a vampire now." Stephanie rubbed her hands over her face. "She's going to be miserable."

"At least she's alive," Klaus snapped, irritation clear for the first time in his voice, "which is the most I can say. There was nothing else I could do in the moment."

"You could have avoided the situation entirely!" Stephanie growled. "By leaving her out of it! Sophie could have performed the spell to distract Davina and Kol still would have found Elijah."

"Or more likely Sophie would have refused," Klaus said tightly. "It was a chance I'd have rather not taken." He gave her an appealing look. "It could not be avoided, but if it is any consolation . . . I am . . . sorry, for the pain you feel at her loss. I'm sorry."

Stephanie blinked, startled. He continued, changing the subject. "Marcel was obviously curious about the pregnancy. I told him some witches cursed us in Mystic Falls."

It was close enough to the truth.

"Good night," Klaus said quietly. He took a step forward and kissed the top of her forward tenderly. Before she could decide whether she was going to lean into the touch or push him away, Klaus flashed out of her bedroom.

She shut her door with a click.


	3. we were never welcome here at all

Notes: Sorry for the wait! And thank you all so much for the reviews! They're wonderful to read and it just makes me smile to see a new one every time. Thank you for reading and I hope you all continue to enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries/the originals or any quotes used/borrowed.

**we were never welcome here at all**

"_No more dreaming of the dead as if death itself was undone  
No more calling like a crow for a boy, for a body in the garden  
No more dreaming like a girl so in love, so in love  
No more dreaming like a girl so in love, so in love  
No more dreaming like a girl so in love with the wrong world."_

_._

_._

**.**

It was noticeable now.

There was a firm roundness to the flesh between her hips, swelling just a little bit outwards and making her have difficulty pulling up her jeans' zipper. It wasn't obvious and no one else would notice it unless she took off her shirt, but _she_ knew it was there, could feel it. The nausea she had experienced was not abating – if anything, it was worse and came at very inopportune times. Sex wasn't particularly appealing at the moment. She felt lethargic. She craved human blood – from the vein. Blood bags tasted foul on her tongue.

Stephanie needed to see a doctor to make sure everything was progressing well. But therein lie her problem; all the humans that lived in the Quarter were on vervain, as the vampires were to feed from visitors and tourists only. Steph didn't want this piece of news getting out beyond what it already had and she didn't want to add another variable, like humans' involvement. What if someone got curious?

She'd have to find someone discreet and that already knew about the child. Unfortunately, that limited her options to a very small, very suspect pool of people – the witches. Stephanie didn't want to entrust the safety of her unborn child to them, to those who would manipulate them, but there wasn't much of a choice. She wasn't sure she trusted Kol anymore than them.

"Are you ready?" Stephanie looked up and found Sophie Devereux standing in her bedroom doorway. Klaus and Kol were out; their own plans to get Elijah back under way during the festival that would be starting in an hour or so. "We've got a little bit of a drive out to the bayou, so we should head out now."

Did she trust Sophie?

Not a chance in hell.

But there were very few other options available.

"Yeah," Stephanie said. She pulled her leather jacket over her loose, faded green hoody because of the cool evening air and the fleeting sunshine that was dipping below the horizon. "Let's go." She followed the witch out of the house and down into the long, winding driveway, where a small black car was parked haphazardly.

It was quiet as they drove except for the whine of the air conditioner and the background hum of the radio on its lowest volume setting. If Stephanie concentrated, she could hear the fluttering heartbeat of her baby. Sophie shot her occasional curious glances, but never spoke a word. Steph didn't mind.

The witch decided to break the silence. "Does Klaus know you're doing this?" The spark of mockery in her eyes answered her own question.

"That's not really your business, is it?" Stephanie asked. She stared forward.

"As I'd rather _not _get turned into a vampire for pissing him off, it kind of is." Sophie's hands tightened around the driver's wheel, fingers clenching and unclenching with sudden tension.

Realization dawned. Steph pursed her lips. "You heard about Katie."

"Of course I damn well heard about Katie," Sophie hissed, a burst of fury crossing her face and entering her voice. "The whole witch community has heard about what happened to Katie. You know, she's already become a warning tale for people? Don't get involved with a vampire or else you'll be turned into one. Not really original, but it nails the point home. A lot of the elders are rethinking this alliance with Klaus because of it."

"It doesn't really matter whether we have an alliance or not," Stephanie said, deadpan. Her fingers unconsciously gravitated toward her burgeoning bump. She looked at Sophie. "Klaus will deal with Marcel with or without your help, considering you've done nothing so far except threaten him." And they had no hold over the baby anymore, which apparently Sophie didn't know yet. The longer they could keep that secret, the better. "Klaus hates to be threatened."

"Yeah, well, _we_ hate that Davina is stuck in the clutches of that bastard, Marcel," Sophie snapped. "We also hate that we can't practice magic anymore without being gunned down."

They were quiet again for several minutes.

In an attempt to change the subject, Stephanie brought up a pressing question. "So who is going to be checking out the . . . baby?" It was still weird to think about. She already felt a passionate amount of emotion for the child inside of her – guilt, that she was bringing it into this mess with her and Klaus as its parents; fear, that something would go wrong during the mystical pregnancy; fierce protectiveness to guard its precious new life; and love, an already overpowering, utterly overwhelming amount of love for this tiny new being.

"A doctor in the know, one of our elders – Agnes, and Sabine – Agnes has a little bit of experience with stuff like this and Sabine is a talented witch who is a bit of a seer. We trust the doctor. They'll be able to help." Sophie's fingers loosened on the wheel of the car. "No reason to worry."

.

.

.

"Over the course of my life, I have encountered no shortage of those that would presume to know of good and evil. Such terms mean nothing. People do what is in their best interest, regardless of who gets hurt. Is it evil to take what one wants . . . to satisfy their needs . . . to insure the safety of their loved ones? What some would call evil, I would call an appropriate response to a harsh and unknown world."

"I'm sorry, but I really don't understand what any of this has to do with me. I barely even know you."

Klaus turned his head. Behind him, Cami stood with her hair twisted up into a ponytail, leaning against the doorjamb. Her intelligent eyes were narrowed on him, sleeveless arms folded over her chest stubbornly. He had gone to her home that morning, eager to see what information she could pass along from her affair with Marcel – including when Marcel was planning on releasing Elijah – thanks to Stephanie's compulsion.

"Because I enjoy your company and I sense you have the capacity to understand someone of my . . . complexity," Klaus drawled. He took a step forward and where others would flinch, Cami merely raised her chin. She had such courage, so much bravery . . . there was a fire in Camille that intrigued Klaus. He loathed to admit it to himself, but he found that he was starting to enjoy the human's company. "I came to New Orleans only to discover my girl is pregnant because of some magic, and the witches here intend to manipulate me with her and the child. I traded my insufferable brother to a man I wanted to trust me, but now he won't return him despite a promise he made. Then I find a young woman held captive by the man I wanted to trust me – a tyrant in his own right, I assure – and I want to help both of these women – my girl and the teenager I found. So, tell me, Cami, does that sound evil to you?"

"I don't believe in evil as a diagnosis," Cami said flatly. She turned her eyes up to meet Klaus' intense gaze. "I think that you have unstable personal relationships, chronic anger issues, fear of abandonment . . . I think you could use a person to talk to, professionally that is. Just not me."

"I'd prefer to talk to you." His pink lips curled up into a smile. "I'm going to offer you a job as my stenographer."

"What would we be writing?" Cami sighed. Klaus walked passed her and settled himself into the red chair that was tucked in to her dining room table. He leaned back and crossed his ankles in front of him.

"We're writing my memoirs, of course." He smirked. "We'll spend this time together doing that, right after you report on your relationship with Marcel."

"That's private," She protested.

"It's also what Stephanie compelled you to do," He reminded her.

"She compelled me to go out with Marcel and get inside information," Cami corrected. "She didn't say I had to tell _you _about it."

"_Now you do_."

Cami's eyes blanked for a moment and then cleared as the compulsion took hold. "Yes, Klaus," She murmured.

"The French Quarter is on the verge of war, with me on one side and Marcel on the other. He has a bit of a wild card up his sleeve – the young woman he's holding captive, she's a witch – and a powerful one. So I want to know what you know about Marcel and his plans." Klaus put his fingers together in a steeple.

Cami pursed her lips, trying to hold her words back, but the compulsion forced her to speak. "He called me this morning before you arrived. He wants me to escort Davina around the Dauphine Festival." She looked at her watch. "Actually, I'm supposed to be leaving now."

Klaus' eyes lit up. "Indeed? Continue, sweetheart."

"She's rebelling against authority or something and that's one of the reasons why he asked me; I think he hopes that I can set her straight with my education in psych. I told Marcel that I would because of Stephanie's compulsion . . . and I felt a bit sorry for her."

Klaus smiled, pleased. He took a step backward, away from Camille. "Good. Now, I now I may need your assistance later with some family matters concerning Elijah . . . do keep your phone on just in case. You're my backup plan."

.

.

.

Gravel crunched beneath her big black boots as she walked beside Sophie up to the old, scrappy looking house sitting up on stilts. It was off-white, probably more from the weather than any decorating attempts, with wild grasses and plants curling up the sides of the house and over the porch. Paint curled off of the sides of the house lazily, half holding on despite the winds. Standing just outside the door were two black witches – one young with free, curly hair and a half smile, and the other older with lines around her eyes and mouth. Her hair was pulled up into a bun with a few curls flying loose over her forehead.

"Nice set up you have here, really," Steph said critically. "Do you perform open-heart surgery with rusty shears too?"

"The doctor had to relocate because Marcel was terrorizing her," Sophie explained stiffly, clearly offended. She turned her head and focused on her two coven mates. "Sabine, Agnes," Sophie greeted them with a head nod. "You remember Stephanie Salvatore."

"The vampire carrying the hybrid's bastard child," Agnes said quietly, eyes locking onto Stephanie's. They were intense and staring, boring holes into Steph's head. The lines were crinkled and her lips were pursed together in a concentrated – displeased? – frown. Stephanie put a hand to her lower abdomen to protect it.

"Excuse Agnes," Sabine intervened smoothly. She stepped off of the porch and offered a hand to Steph. "She's a bit set into the times were a man and woman were married before they had children, preferably as humans." Her perfect white teeth glinted in the sunshine as she smiled widely, her hand unwavering as continued to wait for the vampire to take it into her own.

Stephanie took the warm hand and shook it once, firmly. "Just as long as it's only name calling," Steph replied. "Anything else and I might get a little . . . testy."

Sabine chuckled. "Of course. Come on in; we've got everything set up for you in the house." She nodded her head toward the door and led the way. Stephanie followed after her, with Sophie behind her. Agnes' gaze burned Stephanie as she continued to watch her until Steph was out of sight.

She was led into what looked to be a guest room with a twin bed settled against the far wall and another mysterious woman. Witching ingredients were spread out over tables and chairs, making her put on guard for any tricks. She tensed her muscles in case she needed to fight or flee. Sophie disappeared somewhere into the house, while Agnes and Sabine stayed inside the room with Steph. The strange woman, presumably the doctor, looked up at Stephanie.

"Sit," She commanded sharply and rolled over a small machine. "There aren't any stirrups, obviously, so you'll have to exercise some self-control and stay still." Stephanie stripped off her leather jacket and settled onto the twin bed. The doctor pushed her shoulders back onto the mattress and moved to push up the vampire's sweatshirt.

"I've got it," Stephanie said quietly, and rolled her shirt up toward her sore, slightly swollen breasts. The small curve of her belly was exposed to the other three women in the room. Sabine smiled reassuringly, but Agnes only narrowed her eyes. The doctor had a glint of scientific curiosity and something else that Stephanie was hard-pressed to decipher.

The doctor, whose name Steph had yet to learn, squirted a jelly like substance onto her soft stomach and used a medical wand to rub it over her skin. The machine next to the bed beeped to life and an image flickered onto the screen, presumably a picture of the inside of her womb. It took a minute, but the doctor found the heartbeat and then pointed out the head and the tiny body of the baby.

"What's your name?" Stephanie asked the doctor quietly, even as her eyes were riveted to the small screen, watching her baby.

"Dr. Paige," The woman murmured distractedly. She made a small noise and pulled away the wand. "Everything looks normal so far. You're about ten to eleven weeks along. The fetus is healthy – almost too perfect," The doctor grouched. She sounded mildly disappointed – was she hoping for some obviously visible supernatural trait from an ultrasound? Some deformity from being conceived by a hybrid and a vampire? "The fetus has nails now, and its limbs can bend. I can't tell the sex of the child yet – I won't be until around the 18 to 20 week mark." Dr. Paige turned toward Agnes and Sabine. "They, however, might be able to work some magic, no pun intended. So that's my job done. She's all yours."

"What are you doing?" Stephanie asked sharply. She reached over and grabbed a tattered grey towel and began to pat herself dry of jell. "Is that all?"

"There's some things that only magic can tell," Agnes said ominously and dismissed Dr. Paige. The strange woman disappeared out of the guest room, leaving Steph only with the two witches.

.

.

.

"Church is closed, so you better go find your house of horrors somewhere else." The preacher had his back turned to the door, using a broom and a dustpan to sweep up broken glass from the floor.

"Fortunately for you, I'm completely uninterested in any of that," Kol replied bemusedly. "I am, however, absolutely fascinated by the architecture of this church."

"Uh huh," The priest pressed his lips together. Slowly, he straightened up his back and set the dustpan and the straw broom against one of the front pews. He folded his arms across his chest and his brows furrowed deeply above his eyes as they swept Kol's lean form and spikey hair. "Are you really interested in architecture?"

"Ah, you caught me." Kol swept out his hands in a wide gesture, palms facing the ceiling, a faux apologetic frown on his face. "I'm actually here to confess my sins. What's your name, Father?"

"Father Kieran," The priest introduced, still clearly very skeptical. "And you are, young man?"

"Kol. Say, what happened over there?" Kol pointed at the wall of the church, squinting his eyes to make it appear as if he was having difficulty seeing in the dark.

"St. Anne's used to be the heart of the Quarter, but it hasn't been the same since the massacre. Nine seminar students were killed. You're standing on and staring at blood." Father Kieran stared Kol down, but the vampire only smiled pleasantly.

"I'm not squeamish at all, I assure you, Father. Hey, before I start my confession, do you supposed I could take a look around? Go upstairs, peak into the attic . . . wander a bit?" Kol gave the priest a charming smile.

Father Kieran wasn't fazed. "No. Like I said, the church is closed. I'm sorry, but I'll have to hear your confession some other day – or maybe you could find another church. There are a few around."

Kol pulled an exaggerated face. "But see, this is a bit of an emergency. I've lied, coveted, stolen," He stepped into Kieran's personal space and breathed into his ear, "even killed. I want to tell you all about it."

Kieran took a step back and eyed Kol warily. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, pal, but it's over. Get out of the church or I will call the police and tell them you've just admitted to murder."

Kol rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'm done playing games." He compelled Kieran, "_Tell me where the attic is._"

Kieran's face went a little slack. "Up the stairs and to your right."

"Thanks, darling. _Forget we had this lovely conversation_." Kol patted him on the back and blurred up the stairs. Like the priest had said, there was a wooden door leading – presumably – to the attic. He pushed it open. Like someone had opened the floodgates, memory poured back into Kol's consciousness; he remembered being here before with the witch, Davina_, there were art and sketches littered throughout and strung up on the walls and the ceiling. To his left and at the end of the room was a dark headed girl facing her mirror? To his right was Elijah's coffin._

He blinked out of the memory to find that Davina was gone but Elijah's coffin was still on Kol's right. He raised his hand to the door, but was unsurprised to feel the magical force field fling it back. Elijah's coffin was open and his older brother was exposed. Suddenly his eyes popped open and –

Kol's surroundings disappeared around him and he found himself back in time, wearing a black suit hearing tinny dancing music all around him. "What the bloody hell is this?" He barked.

"Language, brother, please," Elijah's voice admonished him. Kol jerked and found his elder wearing a matching suit and standing across from him. Elijah smiled.

"What's going on?" Kol asked. "Where are we?"

"In a memory of mine," Elijah explained.

"How are you awake?" Kol glared. "We've been looking for you."

"Marcel released me of the dagger but Davina decided to keep me here – she's planning on finding a way to kill an Original. They didn't replace the dagger, so I've been slowly regaining my strength. I should be as good as new within a few hours." Elijah inclined his head and Kol followed him through iron plated gates and into an opera house. They stepped into a large theater and were submerged in no longer tinny music and hundreds of humans sitting in their chairs, watching attentively to the show.

"Then let's get out of here, Elijah," Kol said impatiently. "Now, preferably."

Elijah shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not quite ready to leave yet, however. Davina is . . . curious. I want to propose a truce of some kind, so this war between the witches and the vampires can end before it really gets onto his feet. Do you see what I mean, brother?"

"I think you're mad," Kol said dryly. "These witches aren't looking for a truce – they want Marcel dead."

"I'm sure something can be arranged," Elijah replied serenely. "Would you tell Niklaus what I've told you?"

"Fine," Kol grouched and the opera faded around him. He blinked again and he was back on the threshold of the attic. "You're bloody barmy," Kol said to his brother's motionless form. "This isn't going to turn out the way you hope it will," He warned darkly. Then he turned on his heel and left the church, and Elijah, behind him.

He wanted to enjoy the festival while it lasted.

.

.

.

Sabine took a step toward Stephanie and held out her hand. "I'm a bit of a seer," She explained quietly. "So I'll be able to figure out if the baby will be a boy or a girl. But what I'm also going to do is try to see what kind of nutrients the baby needs – blood or human edibles?" It made sense; Stephanie surmised the witch could be able to somehow figure out what exactly the baby would need to survive before it was born – magic and everything.

Still, she was wary. New Orleans – and her recent experience in Mystic Falls with Expression – was quickly teaching her to be wary of all witches. "I could consume both. And a surprise is always nice."

"I just want to make sure," Sabine pressed. She placed her hands onto Stephanie's abdomen before she could continue to protest. Her eyes closed and her head drooped forward, while her lips continued to move silently. Stephanie tensed. Sabine's head flew up suddenly and she dropped her hands to her sides. She swallowed. "You're going to have a little boy." Stephanie's mind blanked for a moment, unfortunately leading her to miss the strain in Sabine's voice.

Then she blinked her eyes rapidly – a boy. Stephanie was going bring a life into the world and it would be a little boy. Her lips twitched at the corners, curling upward into a small smile. As her hands began to move toward her abdomen, Agnes' fingers curled around Sabine's elbow. Quickly, the elder witch hurried the younger out of the room and into the hall, closing the door behind them with a click.

Stephanie was forced out of her lull at the sound. She sat up and listened to their whispered conversation through the wall.

"I had a vision," Sabine said quickly, breathlessly. "This child, when it is born, will bring destruction to _all_ of us. It will be the end of the New Orleans witches, Agnes. He – that little monster will be as bad as his father. It needs to be dealt with now, before it becomes too late. I saw visions of red, blood dripping down the walls, heads rolling – Agnes, it was a living _nightmare_."

"Good thing I called in some backup," Agnes replied, her voice was cold and decisive. It simultaneously sent shivers down Steph's spine and warmed the pit of her belly with fierce anger.

She stood and flicked her eyes toward the window. A dark van had pulled up some time during the examination, and two burly looking men clad in dark clothes stepped out of the vehicle as if on cue. Witches? Vampires working behind Marcel and Klaus' backs? The door began to creak back open and Stephanie decided she'd have to take her chances.

She jumps out the window and landed firmly on her ankles. The shattering glass made Agnes and Sabine hurry, and the two men looked up at her crouched figure. Immediately, they raised their hands in an offensive gesture and the front door flew open to reveal the three witches that had been inside. Sophie's face had lost its color and her hands appeared to be magically restrained to her sides.

"I didn't know!" She shouted to Steph.

"Miss Salvatore, please reconsider your actions," Agnes said, voice gravelly. "Listen to what Sabine saw and then I'm sure you'll understand why this needs to happen."

"I already heard what she said, and once was enough for me. I think it's time I get going, because it looks like I've worn out my welcome." Stephanie straightened and the two men took another step closer. They began to spread out – the men and the two able witches – to put Stephanie in a circle.

"Now, now, let's not be rash. Why don't you just go back inside and we'll all sit down and talk about this," Agnes suggested and the look in her eyes was clearly intended to be reassuring but all Stephanie saw was the malice toward her unborn son.

She gave them an unimpressed glance. "Should I make a list of all the reasons why I think that would be a bad idea?"

Agnes raised her hands and began to chant. Stephanie decided to not waste any more time; she ran as quickly as she could, and made her way out of the bayou.

.

.

.

She headed to the festival in the Quarter after her escape, after she tried calling Klaus and found that he wasn't answering his phone. The party had very clearly picked up as the night had worn on; blasting music echoed through the streets, happy drunk people sank and danced with their friends, and lights and brightly colored costumes and dresses lit up the entire street. Unsettled from her encounter with the witches, Stephanie kept a close eye on everyone and everything in her vicinity – then her vigilance paid off.

Stephanie caught sight of Marcel speaking to a man – the priest of the church, looking at his outfit. She focused her hearing and listened in to their conversation, hoping for some news about what had been going on during her . . . excursion . . . into the bayou.

"I take you it you know the Originals are back in town?" Father Kieran asked Marcel gruffly. From her vantage point, Steph was able to see Marcel's face lose its warmth. He nodded to the priest, so the Father continued. "Well, I saw one of the brother's at the church; he was sniffing around, asking about the attic. He doesn't know I'm on vervain. You've got a problem on your hands."

Marcel rolled his lips together. "No disrespect, but I need to know, are you here to help or are you just going to drop in with criticism?"

"Never forget, Marcel, that you live in the city by the grace of those that know your secret and tolerates you." Father Kieran took a step closer to the vampire, aiming for intimidation.

Marcel took the bait. "And _you_ know that this city _thrives_ because of me and my people. Any time you need a reminder of that, just let me know." The two men gazed into each other's eyes tensely and Stephanie thought their alpha male posturing would just continue when Josh suddenly appeared at their sides, all his attention focused on Marcel.

"Hey, I thought you might want to know that the girls have been lost. I – I mean, no one has any eyes on them anymore," Josh reported nervously. Marcel's brows furrowed and he immediately dismissed Father Kieran and followed Josh down the busy street.

Stephanie made an executive decision. She followed them.

Josh disappeared into the throng of people, clearly getting back to the party, but Marcel sought out a lone Cami. Stephanie quickly gathered that she had been watching the little witch, Davina, but she'd gone to meet a high school crush at Father Kieran's church. She followed Marcel at a distance, and stayed in the shadows he discovered a lone Davina in the church, cradling a broken violin.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here, remember?" And the young witch bitterly turned her back on her vampire protector. Stephanie slipped back out and found something not so surprising; Klaus, waiting for her.

The unexpected thing was his chipper smile and the bounce in his step.

"Hello, love," Klaus greeted. "I found out a curious thing – did you know Cami had a brother? Something made him spiral out of control and massacred his fellow seminar students. I wonder why?"

"Compulsion?" Steph hazarded a guess. "That's not why you're so happy. Why is that, by the way?"

"Cami also has a few theories about psychosis that she explained to me," Klaus blithely continued. "She's a very interesting person to chat with. But don't be jealous, love, you know you're the only one for me." He grinned.

"Can we talk somewhere else?" Stephanie raised her brows in a significant manner. "Somewhere Marcel won't be able to accidentally overhear?"

Klaus shrugged and together they made their way back toward the Mikaelson home. "What were you doing at the church?" She asked when they were out of earshot.

"Making sure that Davina knows it's in her best interest that she sides with me in the upcoming war," Klaus explained easily.

"Ah, I see, that's why you're so happy; you must have killed some of her loved ones," Stephanie said sardonically, nodded her head in faux understanding.

Klaus sniffed, offended. "I only threatened and then healed. She owes me a favor now." When she gave him a deadpan look, he smirked. "So that's my day. Where were you?"

Stephanie made a face that had Klaus' good humor faded away. "With Agnes and Sabine. Can I just name the million other people I'd have rather been stranded with in the bayou?"

Klaus stopped short. "What did they do?" He growled. Blue, suddenly flaming eyes were sweeping possessively over her body, darting down to her lower abdomen. "Did they hurt you?"

"No." Stephanie pursed her lips. "I needed someone to look up on the baby and I really only had Sophie to trust. So she took me out to the bayou so Agnes, Sabine and some voodoo witch doctor could look us over. Then Sabine had a vision that our baby would rein hell on earth and they decided it needed to be . . . taken care of. I got out in time."

"The witches were supposed to protect you," He hissed. "When I get my hands on Sophie Devereux –"

"She had nothing to do with it," Stephanie told him firmly. "Or so she said. I plan on checking out her story tomorrow."

"I'll kill her," Klaus said. "I'll slaughter them all."

"No." Stephanie crossed her arms. "If Sophie had anything to do with it, _I'll_ kill her." Klaus' eyebrows rose at that and a tiny, proud smile danced across his lips.

"Not if Elijah does it first," Kol's voice rang out in the darkness. Klaus and Stephanie turned their attention to his sudden appearance as he strolled into view via the moonlight. "I found the bloody wanker in the attic. He was awake and he has a plan."

"Well?" Klaus asked impatiently.

"He's going to try and make a truce with the witches," Kol explained, "with Davina, more precisely."

Some of Klaus' good humor returned. "Good thing I already have a rapport with her."

.

.

.

When Stephanie checked her phone at the mansion, she found that she had several missing calls, all from Caroline. Again.

She called her back.

"_Stephanie?!" _Steph had to pull the phone back to avoid the shattering of her eardrums. "Oh my God, I thought you'd never call me back! I have so much to tell you! And you have some serious explaining to do!"

"I will," Stephanie reassured her friend, a smile coming to her face. "Promise. But tell me what all the calls today were for."

Caroline huffed and then launched into an extended monologue of her misadventures at Whitmore College, starting with their fourth college roommate being attacked by a vampire and their creepy biology professor covering it up.

"What's his name?"

"Dr. Wes Maxfield," Caroline drew it out like he was the first evil. "He's the creepiest, I swear! I knew there was something up with him before Megan died, I swear. He has this aura around him or something, I don't know. But seriously? There's some weird stuff going on, Steph. I met this guy named Jesse and I took him home for the Bell Ringing Ceremony in Mystic Falls and I thought we were getting along great and everything, but then he just vanished! I mean, we got back to school that night, but after that, he was just gone. His roommate hasn't seen him since! And that was days ago!"

Stephanie furrowed her brows, easily falling back into the role of Mystic Falls' detective. "Do you think his disappearance is connected with Megan's death? Maybe Maxfield has his hands in more than one bowl at Whitmore. Has his . . . body turned up anywhere?"

"No," Caroline denied quickly. "No. But I'm afraid . . . oh, Steph, I don't know what to do. Bonnie doesn't use her magic anymore – she's afraid to! And Elena's still off her rocker and Damon's back in Mystic Falls, probably terrorizing my mother, and you're not here with us!"

"Calm down, Caroline," Stephanie said quietly, modulating her voice to sound soothing. "Everything's going to be okay. Elena will turn her humanity back on. Bonnie will figure out whether she wants to practice magic again. Your mom can handle Damon. And I'm just a plane ride away. You're going to figure this out with Dr. Maxfield, your roommate and Jesse. Okay? Breathe."

Caroline heaved a huge sigh on the other end and counted to ten under her breath. "Okay. I'm okay. I miss you, Steph."

"I miss you too, Care," Stephanie replied honestly. "I'll call you tomorrow. To check up on how things are going. Call me when you need something, okay? I've been busy, but I promise I'll answer from now on." She felt so guilty for ignoring her friend.

"Will you tell me what's going on with you then?" Caroline demanded, recovering her minor panic attack.

Stephanie hummed. "Bye Caroline."

Caroline's voice bordered on a whine, then. "Steph –" But Stephanie clicked the phone shut and set it on her end table that sat next to her bed.

"Sounds like they're falling apart without you." Klaus sounded dry and amused. Stephanie looked up and found him leaning against her door jam.

"Done with your temper tantrum?" Stephanie asked instead of responding to the bait. Klaus stepped inside and invited himself into her bed. They lay down side by side staring up at the ceiling as his hand slowly migrating to settle on her stomach. She let him. Their relationship was dysfunctional, Stephanie knew. Worse, it was unhealthy. Despite the fact that he claimed he loved all of her now, their relationship was still started on a venomous rapport that involved murder and rough sex. Her own growing tolerance of his attitude toward innocents was also beginning to scare her a little. The fact that it _only _scared her a little was frightening. Sure, she wrangled him a little, keeping him from murdering Katie. But the girl was still a vampire now. She couldn't stop him from terrorizing Davina at the festival. Dark thoughts began to settle; what if Sabine was right? What if their son became a mass murderer – with parents like them, it was certainly possible. Probable, even.

"Perhaps." Klaus answered her question teasingly, unaware of the heavy things she was thinking about.

But it wasn't her obligation to be Klaus' conscious. That was his responsibility.

But she felt obliged, considering she was literally lying down with the devil. If she could influence him just a bit – be merciful . . . there was a side to him that was kind. Sympathetic. Was it so bad that she had to be there to keep that side alive? Probably.

Like she said, unhealthy.

"We're having a son," Stephanie whispered in the darkness.

Klaus' mouth ghosted on her neck, and his bottom lip dragged across her skin as he tilted her head toward him. "A son?" He sounded breathless.

"Yes." A little boy with curly blonde hair and vibrant green eyes, maybe. Or with dark waves and sharp blue eyes, like Damon.

"A son," He repeated, this time with something like reverence in his tone. Klaus moved his head so it was resting between her breasts and his hands cradled her hips. She curled her arms around his waist. "I won't touch a hair on his head. Not with malice in mind," He said suddenly. "I won't be like Mikael. I'll never be Mikael."

"No," Stephanie agreed quietly. "You won't."

She wouldn't let him.

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.

.

Tbc.


End file.
